Salient Realty Group is pleased to offer to qualified investors the Franklin School Apartments, a 75-unit, four-story, 77,127 SF historic conversion — originally built in 1909 as a school designed by prominent architect William Ittner and fully redeveloped in 2006 through a Historic Tax Credit renovation executed by HBD Construction, including all-new plumbing, electrical, HVAC, windows, and much more. The property leased to full occupancy within four months of that delivery, and nearly two decades later its core building systems remain sound, giving a buyer a renovation plan focused on cosmetic updates and lease-up rather than deferred infrastructure risk.
At 66.7% occupancy with a predominantly month-to-month rent roll, the 25 vacant units here allow for a new owner to begin renovating and leasing immediately. Average in-place rents of $618/unit sit $232 below the $850/unit market average across 74 one- bedroom units and one studio, putting substantial upside within reach on nearly the entire building. Historic Tax Credit eligibility at the state and federal level further offsets renovation capital, and two attached grass lots add optionality for future parking or amenity development.
Franklin School Apartments sits in Downtown West, less than one mile from the new NGA West headquarters — the $1.7 billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus and the largest federal investment in St. Louis history, bringing approximately 3,150 employees directly into the submarket. Just to the south, the new MLS Stadium (Energizer Park) was recently completed for $457 million and is a huge attraction and development catalyst for the neighborhood.
A structurally sound, systems-renovated historic asset at $49,333/unit, a $232/month rent delta with an immediate lease-up runway, tax credit upside, and a location benefiting from the largest federal investment St. Louis has ever seen — Franklin School Apartments delivers outsized value-add potential with minimal execution risk.